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Home My WebLink AboutPA2017-228 Comment 116b_05032019_BurkFrom: tara burk <tstivers@hotmail.com> Sent: Friday, May 03, 2019 12:15 PM To: Zdeba, Benjamin Subject: Re: Ford Rd. Condo/Apt. Project Hello Ben, Thank you for your detailed response. I stayed up late last night watching the study session video from the meeting on April 18th. I was surprised to see such an empty room. I can almost guarantee that won't happen moving forward now that people are informed about this project. I heard about "Newport House" on our Port Street YahooGroups posting site. There have been at least 50 posts on this topic so far. I wanted to point out that not a single resident has said that they were in favor of this development moving forward. Not one as of yet and I have not missed a single post. Three people did however stand up for Ray. They were simply just wondering/asking if it was the same Ray Lawler that lives here as they couldn't believe that someone who lives here would propose something like this. People know he's moving to Hong Kong so they were confused as to why he would do this to us before he leaves. I am only mentioning Ray here because A) he's in charge or this project and B) because he said he consulted with several Port Streets residents. I was not one of them so wanted to state my voice. I would not bring him up otherwise. I have known Ray for ten years and he has done an incredible job supporting our school! We have been lucky to have him. He's a very likable guy and I like him but I want to be clear that he does not represent my views as a Port Street resident. This isn't personal this is simply business. I will not be arrogant enough to say that I hold the microphone for this community but from what I have observed and read I can tell you people are angry. Very angry. There are many emails going around outside the YahooGroups site too. Thoughts after watching the video... I personally know a lot of people that have gotten a divorce in the last year, or two, and all but one of the families moved to an apartment. They did not have the financial capacity to afford a condo with an approximate starting price of $900K. A lot of those people that got a divorce were renters here. Five families immediately come to mind. It's a nice thought to have a location for grandparents to live, so they could be close to their grandkids, but I'm not buying the need. Someone please show me some data. It would seem close to impossible to be able to monitor the projects overflow public street or lot parking. Signage would not be enough. How could you tell the difference between a car from "Newport House" and a car from an an AYSO Soccer game? I can't think of a viable solution where this wouldn't be a conflict at some point. It's already so crowded there on the weekends. It's also interesting that these plans are being considered before a new cell tower location has been identified or pre-approved. Seems like that step should have happened first. I have AT&T and wondering if my cell coverage will change. Also, would this tower end of being a bigger eye sore if it's realized that there's no optimal place to transfer it to? I also found that the city council members only gently questioned Ray and others at Hines. I appreciate that he worked with you all at City Council, for five years, but I would like to ask your team to be cognizant that this project isn't biased in any way. Just asking it to please be fair on both ends. I kindly ask this as my intent is not to insult anyone. I just wanted to point it out as I am not the only one who felt that the questioning was mild. Think about the real voices of the Port Street not someone that is claiming to be our voice. Think about how this could affect our kids, our community, our safety and our view. I registered for the updates you suggested below (along with a few other items). Thank you for your time again on this matter! Tara Burk 310-251-6990 cell From: Zdeba, Benjamin <bzdeba@newportbeachca.gov> Sent: Thursday, May 2, 2019 4:49 PM To: 'tara burk' Subject: RE: Ford Rd. Condo/Apt. Project Hi Ms. Burk, Thank you for taking the time to speak with me over the phone and to write me regarding your concerns. I appreciate your patience, as I have been working to catch up on emails while managing other assigned projects. I will keep your email as part of the public record and will attach it to the Planning Commission staff report as correspondence received when this project goes for public hearing at a future date to be determined. There was a Planning Commission study session held Thursday, April 18, to introduce the project to the Commissioners and the public. No action was taken at this meeting. The agenda packet and a video recording are available here. There has also been an environmental document prepared for the project. It is available here for review. Comments on this particular document are due by May 6, 2019; however, you may comment on the project at any time. If the applicant chooses to move forward, there will be: 1. A public hearing with the Planning Commission wherein action will be taken on the project; 2. A public hearing with the John Wayne Airport Land Use Commission because this is a legislative action that would change land use within the airport planning area; and 3. A public hearing with the City Council where a final action will be rendered. On that note, I will add your email address to the interest list, so I can keep you informed as to when any upcoming hearings are going to occur. If you are interested, the City also has an online “eNotifications” system, which you can sign up for here. Be sure to opt in for “Planning Commission” and “City Council Public Hearings.” Once again, I appreciate your continued participation in the public process. Have a great day, Ben Z. BENJAMIN M. ZDEBA, AICP Community Development Department Associate Planner bzdeba@newportbeachca.gov 949-644-3253 From: tara burk <tstivers@hotmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2019 10:48 PM To: Zdeba, Benjamin <bzdeba@newportbeachca.gov> Subject: Ford Rd. Condo/Apt. Project Ben, Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me yesterday. It didn't seem conceivable that proposed plans like these would come up in our area. So much time and consideration has been taken to make our community, and surrounding areas, esthetically pleasing and this development would be quite the eyesore although they are claiming it would be quite the opposite. Even more important however is the immense congestion and safety issues it would create. My girls have played soccer on one of the nearby fields, for Fall and Spring, and it could be very difficult to find a nearby parking spot. The plans currently do not reflect enough parking spaces for the proposed condo/apartment units. That would require an even larger overflow of street parking. What is even more disturbing is the proposed truck loading driveway. All I could think of is Brock McCann, 8-years-old, who was hit and killed by a trash truck on May 25, 2016. The trash truck driver's view was obstructed and this sort of thing could very well happen if this project was approved to move forward. I cringe that I'm being confronted to have to think about this. Beyond these points is the economic aspect. Scott Petersen allegedly suggested that they should try to zone the units to be eligible to go to Andersen Elementary. If these end up being apartments this could completely change this school and the school is literally one of the driving factors why we moved here. The school and teachers are incredible but some classes have a lot of students. For example, my daughters 4th grade class has 33 students in one class with one teacher this year. I don't know how many students are in the other 4th grade class but it's close to this number. Also, our 2nd grade has close to 54 students. Not sure how they will divide the class size next year. If apartments, they aren't paying the property taxes to live in this area. Like many other parents at Andersen, we donate money each year to help supplement the funds at this public school. This margin would be worth much less if a lot of new kids, who may not be as motivated to donate, join our school. There may be room in some grades to to add students but what about the grades that I mentioned above that are already so full? I enthusiastically support the current lottery system the school has in place now but 40 to 50 (guessing) new kids could change our school forever which would drastically change property values. The trickle effect... People in this community have paid a lot to be eligible to go to this school. Pay millions for a home or a couple of thousand a month to be eligible to go to Andersen? Hummm? Hines knows this. It's a no brainer to make easy money. There is no regard to the ramifications this would do to our safety, community, property values and our school. I am 100 percent against these proposed plans. Keep this area green! We moved here as it would be a great place to raise our family. My vote is to keep it that way! Thank you, Tara Burk 2028 Port Bristol Cir. Newport Beach, CA 92660 tstivers@hotmail.com 310-251-6990 cell